Location: Velden am Wörthersee / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: 05.09.2014
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €36.00 / €40.00
Sometimes things are so good you’ve just got to do them again right away. That’s exactly how it went with Steamroller’s gig at Bluesiana. Thursday’s opener was followed by an encore performance on Friday. “Same time, same place,” as they say across the pond.
On the way to Bluesiana, by far my favorite club under the sun, we kept getting cut off by bikers who had set up camp by nearby Faaker See for European Bike Week in the first week of September. The traffic jams and parking lots packed with every kind of motorcycle you can imagine were a clear sign of the action in otherwise sleepy little Velden. Motorhead types would’ve gone weak at the knees at the sight of them, but we had come to Velden to see something else.
By the time we got to Bluesiana, the first music fans had already made their way into the club. The regulars were there too, of course. And so were some of the bikers camping nearby. Sitting in a booth right next to the stage was an old friend of Bluesiana, Croatian guitar virtuoso with a velvet voice Alen Brentini, who had come to check out his American colleague.
Steamroller don’t need much of an introduction for anyone who knows their music. Everyone in the band shares one common denominator: Whitesnake. Even though bassist and vocalist Michael Devin is the only one still in Coverdale’s family these days. This year we had the honor of seeing Steamroller at Bluesiana for the first time in their original lineup, with Brian Tichy on drums. And the driving force of the band is, of course, one of the best hard rock guitarists in the world, Doug Aldrich.
The guys kept us waiting quite a while. Around 9:30 p.m. they had only just made it back to backstage from an evening stroll around Velden. And almost twenty more minutes passed before Doug Aldrich showed up on stage, but only long enough to bring out and plug in his pedalboard and guitar. He waved to the crowd gathered below the stage and then disappeared backstage again. Shortly after ten, with the first signs of impatience showing on people’s faces, the band finally took the stage to a roar of applause. And just like that, the impatience was gone.
Word going around the crowd was that Thursday’s show was the best Steamroller gig ever at Bluesiana, so expectations were even higher tonight. Could the guys top themselves twice in two days in a row? Owner Gudrun Kofler was convinced they could, which is why she booked the band for two dates. And I can say she wasn’t wrong.
The setlist was no surprise. Most likely identical to Thursday’s, and very similar to the one we heard at Bluesiana last year and the year before. They kicked off hard and loud with the Zeppelin classic Immigrant song, then rolled on with the equally punchy Never in my life. Right from the start, Michael Devin got the chance to show off his vocals in all their glory and volume. He’s undoubtedly an outstanding vocalist, even if that talent gets pushed a bit into the background in Whitesnake. Of course, Doug and Brian kept pace with the bearded guy when it came to showing off their own vocal chops. Judging by the glances the three of them traded during the show, and considering their commitments in other bands, you’d guess they hardly have time to rehearse these covers together, but any slip, however small, was covered up by the incredible tightness and talent of every single player on stage. Despite the improvised jam-style detours, everything was played with surgical precision, and every song ending was nailed down tight and in sync. They went on in the same spirit with the rhythmically tricky Allman Brothers tune Whipping post, then eased things off a little with Wonder’s I wish.
The whole set was of course packed with playful, comedic moments, mostly courtesy of drummer Brian Tichy. Nothing could stop him, whether he was cobbling together lyrics on the spot about the chirpy sound of Aldrich’s guitar effect or making fun of Michael Devin. Every 3 or 4 songs, the band broke up their playing with what they called the “Velden song,” whose rhythm sounded most of all like a cheerful tune from an Austrian folk band. Every single time, the crowd roared with laughter and clapped along approvingly.
The guys paid tribute to Zeppelin once more with Stairway to heaven, and the lively Space truckin’ was in the set too, during which Brian Tichy managed to rip the head on his snare. The quick snare swap went off without a hitch, and the guys immediately realized it was probably time for a drum solo, while the other drumheads were still holding up against Tichy’s mighty hits. And Tichy didn’t just charm the crowd with comedy bits and twirling sticks, he also proved he’s rightfully one of the most in-demand drummers in the world. Aldrich and Devin soon joined their buddy with their instruments, and together they strolled through States boro blues, Helter Skelter, I shot the sheriff and the Clapton classic Cocaine. It’s often really hot in Bluesiana, as the regulars know, but the musicians under the stage lights feel it most of all. When Brian Tichy mentioned in the banter between band members that he was running out of oxygen, Michael Devin immediately seized on his words and belted out a verse of Sweet’s Love is like oxygen. Doug joined Michael on vocals and tried to follow on guitar too, but the two only locked in instrumentally toward the end of the song, when Brian came in on drums as well. The crowd stared in awe at the playful musicians and sang along. With all these “treats” sprinkled through the setlist, the audience was having a great time, and at times it was hard for the musicians to keep the comments from the floor in check and get back to the setlist. But nobody held it against them.
Of course, the guys on stage didn’t forget the famous David Coverdale either. With the crowd roaring behind them, they sang Crying in the rain, and then chants of Dio’s name rose from the audience. Aldrich’s crew obviously couldn’t let the crowd down, so the trio played Man on the silver mountain, melding it into Holy diver. The clock already said midnight, but the guys showed no sign of tiredness. With plenty of improvised extras, they tackled the indispensable Smoke on the water, then sang Still of the night together with the audience below the stage. After thanking the crowd, owner Gudrun Kofler, and urging the audience and locals to keep supporting this wonderful club, the guys picked up their instruments one last time and, with a wonderful mix of heavy and gentle rhythms and riffs, stitched together Love me two times with Light my fire. A thunderous finish to the song, and then it was goodbye.
A familiar script with unfamiliar interludes, full of freshness, surprises, looseness and humor. Few world-famous musicians are willing to loosen up on stage the way the members of Steamroller did two nights in a row. Same setlist, familiar ways of playing, and yet a special experience both on stage and in front of it. Would it have been worth seeing them three nights in a row? Without a doubt.
RockLine’s report on Steamroller’s first Bluesiana show, on 04.09.2014, is available HERE!
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